The REC joins the Association of Labour Providers, the British Retail Consortium, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and some of the UK’s largest supermarket chains, including the Co-operative Food, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, in a cross-sector effort to reduce human trafficking and forced labour in the UK.

In this country trafficking for labour exploitation largely impacts on sectors with a predominance of migrant workers in their supply chain such as construction, catering, industrial, logistics, hospitality, cleaning, food processing and agriculture.

The REC is promoting the online resources available to recruiters and UK employers to help them identify, tackle and deter hidden third party worker exploitation in their supply chains. Recruiters and employers can access:

&middot best practice guidance

&middot multi-language workplace posters

&middot worker leaflets

&middot template procedures

&middot an anti-trafficking video

&middot a series of workshops across the UK

REC chief executive, Kevin Green, says, "We strongly endorse the Stronger Together network’s aim to eradicate hidden labour exploitation in supply chains. We’re working hard on behalf of our members to raise employer awareness of what good recruitment looks like, but we can’t lose sight of the importance of combatting the criminal at the same time. Knowing the risks is essential if compliant agencies are to help identify and eradicate hidden exploitation. That’s why we want all REC members to get informed, access the materials available and attend the workshops. Working together with responsible employers and recruitment businesses, we can make a real difference in stopping these terrible crimes.”

Stronger Together programme coordinator and Association of Labour Providers (ALP) director, David Camp, says, “We warmly welcome the REC as a supporting partner to the Stronger Together network. Tackling human trafficking for labour exploitation requires a collaborative approach to raise awareness and support employers and recruitment businesses in dealing with this growing scourge in supply chains.”

For more information about Stronger Together and to register for a regional workshop visit www.stronger2gether.org